Moments of "Almost there" (part 1)
Ayato was crouching behind the bushes as a bunch of patrol guards pass. The watch lights scanned the castle grounds, penetrating the darkness behind the fences. It illuminated the clear water surface as it swiped past, just as a fish decided to leap into the air, its golden scales boasting its radiating beauty while small waves of water curled around it, the floating droplets like crystal gems. The fish then dove back into the dark waters, sending ripples across to smudge the full moon's reflection. The splashing noise cut the silence, and a few guards turned, shining their torches towards the pond's direction. They were met with nothing except ripples expanding over the smooth surface of the pond. They waited a few moments before proceeding their patrol.
Alluring lime green eyes followed their movements. Once the guards disappeared around the corner, Ayato averted his gaze towards the east. Without averting his attention from the eastern wing tower, Ayato placed a hand over his earpiece and lightly pressed the small button.
His eyes flashed. "Oi," he said through gritted teeth, his voice barely a whisper. "where the hell are you all?!"
"Teddy and I discovered this interesting chamber." Kanato's voice rang through loud and clear.
This caused Ayato to perk up. "Wow...good job pipsqueak. What's in it?"
"Will you stop calling me that?!" Kanato whisper-hissed. He then lowered his voice further. "Teddy and I found these beautiful statues. We think it might be of the warriors who died on war, judging by their stupidly horrified faces and weaponry impalements." A giggle reached Ayato's ear. "Teddy, look at this one! His tortured face is really something!"
Ayato looked baffled. "What the—we're not here for damn entertainment!"
A new voice intervened. "Fufu, you're actually saying something decent for once~"
Ayato turned his head and shot daggers at his brother crouching beside him. "Shut up, hentai."
Laito responded with a close-eyed smile before he brought his hand to his earpiece. Holding the small button, his smirking lips parted. "Is there anyone else here besides Kanato? Guinevere? Reiji?" His tone was hushed, but despite that it held a clear, serious edge.
"I must applaud you for acting responsible, Laito," Reiji said, his smooth voice entering their ears. "I am currently in the security room in the east wing. For highly advanced technology to rest within an old castle such as this, how unusual..."
Ayato was about to reply when his eyes widened in surprise. At the same time, Laito's expression began morphing into curiosity.
"Is someone fighting back there?" Ayato questioned, voicing both of their thoughts.
Laito sharpened his hearing, running his gaze up the eastern wing tower, over the dark-coloured stone bricks. His hand remained on the earpiece, holding the same, small button. "I hear shoutings as well. Though it couldn't be heard from here, it's still best to be cautious. Geez, I thought you would already know that, Reiji~"
"Hmph. Of course I do," Reiji replied, a hint of annoyance clipping his tone as his eyes scanned the controller buttons along with his gliding, gloved hand. "Rest assured, the noises won't be reaching anywhere beyond these castle walls, nor will it be continuing much longer...After all, Guinevere is the cause of it."
Laito's eyes popped wide open while Ayato simply stared blankly ahead for a moment, slowly digesting Reiji's words. After he did, the two brothers slowly exchanged off-guarded expressions.
"Pfft!" Laito broke the silence, turning his head to the side to place a fisted hand over his mouth. With his other hand, he lightly slapped the ground repeatedly.
Ayato followed suit, bending over to supress laughter that threatened to shake the castle itself. Still giggling, Laito brought his hand back to the earpiece.
"Fufu, what a pleasurable woman..." he said, eyes twinkling in amusement. He closed his eyes, and when he reopened them, all traces of playfulness were gone, replaced by coldness that could possibly freeze hell. "But you know...it's not very gentlemanly to let a woman fight on her own."
The sign on the other line failed to faze him. "You underestimate me well and truly, Laito. I would never in the right mind act in such a revolting manner," said Reiji. "As for your statement, we all know very well by now that Guinevere is a stubborn woman. Keep that in mind when I say that I have attempted to stop her many times."
"True, it is quite typical for her to refuse," Ayato agreed. He couldn't resist flashing a row of white teeth. "Heh. That was pretty amusing. Still, it would have been more awesome if Ore-sama was there."
"I thought you've stopped with the 'Ore-sama' crap." A frown was evident in the speaker's tone.
Laito smirked. "Oh. Subaru-kun~"
"Did you know that Guinevere's beating the hell out of some random guards?" Ayato didn't waste another second to get his point across.
There was silence on the other line, before, "Really?" Subaru answered.
"Yeah. It must be so bad-ass. Ore-sama is bummed now that he couldn't be there."
Laito placed a hand on Ayato's shoulder. "There, there. We all feel your pain."
Ayato nodded. "Reiji? Could you—"
"No. I will not record it." Reiji then released a sigh. "This is the worst time to be asking these questions. Ayato. For once please act civilized."
Ayato clicked his tongue as Laito giggled, patting his shoulder.
"Idiot." Subaru's grin could be heard from the other end.
Ayato's eye twitched. "Know your damn place. Snowballs aren't meant to talk."
"Whoa, did your period leak onto your hair as well?" Subaru fired back.
Laito was currently in need of saving, as his own laughter was slowly murdering him. His head was bowed, shaking as the hand on Ayato's shoulder tightened into an inhumanly iron grip. Luckily, Reiji rescued him by clearing his throat, cutting the (very interesting) conversation short.
"Ayato, Laito, when I disarm the security, all the patrolling lights will switch off. At the same time, a small alarm will sound off due to an automatic hacking sensor within the system," he explained calmly. "This will definitely cause an uprising among the guards, and I know that most of them would immediately run towards the direction of the alarm. Fortunately, majority them are on your side of the castle, so I need you two to get rid of them as quickly as possible, please. Subaru, you and Kanato could deal with the guards on your side."
"Fine," Subaru answered. "But I doubt Kanato would do much. He's too absorbed in those freakish statues."
"Just ditch him then," said Ayato.
Laito smirked. "Ufu, wouldn't that make things worse~?"
"Nah," Subaru replied. "Judging by his current state, he wouldn't even notice if I did."
"Do whatever you wish, so long as it refrains from trouble." And with those words, there was a small clicking sound as Reiji disconnected his hearing device.
Ayato and Laito released their hands from the button, turning off the earpiece. Ayato placed on his black, cap-brimmed hood while Laito brushed a speck of dirt from the white fur on his hoodie. They then both stepped out of their hiding spot just as the watch lights switched off. Exactly as Reiji stated, a deafening alarm rang out, disrupting the peaceful night and the guards' composures.
The guards then broke into sprints, their torches shone beams that moved like disco light shows. They halted upon seeing two unfamiliar redheads in their path.
"Aah, you humans are so noisy~" Laito said, an eye closed as he placed a hand over his ear. Mockery was thick in his tone.
Ayato cracked his knuckles, a grin plastered on his face. "Right? Let's shut them up."
+++++++++++
A fist swung towards Guinevere, and with a swift motion, she stopped the punch by gripping the culprit's wrist, twisting it in an inhuman way. It cracked sickeningly, and an agonised scream reached her ear. At the same time, she thrusted her legs behind her, her heels colliding with another guard's nose, the force causing him to somersault. She reverted her attention back to the front and released the wrist she was twisting. The guard barely stepped back before her palm made contact with his jaw. A satisfying smack rang in the air before he spun, crashing onto the floor. She swivelled around upon hearing footsteps. She ran.
Grabbing one of the approaching guard's face with one hand, she shoved it back, and the force made him collided with his colleagues behind him. A series of cries were heard due to bodies falling like dominos, followed by thwacks upon contact with the cold floor.
Guinevere allowed herself to laugh in amusement before she tilted her head, grabbing the gun's barrel just as it fired. She pushed back a wince at the deafening noise, hiding it with a smirk while her ears were throbbing. Warm liquid dripping down her cheek from the nipped wound below her left eye. She ignored it.
Still holding the gun, she raised her right leg up beside her, her left leg on the floor bending slightly for balance before spinning on its heel, causing her right leg to blur as it swung forward for a roundhouse kick. The balls of her right foot made contact against another guard's temple, ceasing his fire immediately. She then looked back at the guard in front of her, who was frozen in shock at the bizarre second that just passed. His eyes were wide, refusing to blink due to fear of her lethal, fast striking.
Guinevere's hastiness remained as she caught his cheeks in an iron grip, a hand placed over his mouth. Her hooded eyes locked with his terrified ones.
"Now, what should I do with you?" Her tone was casual, playful, as though she was merely selecting a dress from a store. "I am quite sure you would prefer being killed in the hands of a pretty girl than a bunch of handsomely sadistic males, correct? Or do you swing that way too?"
The man's voice was muffled as he cried out.
She sighed. "You will have to speak clearer than that. But since you are quite the sweetie, I'll be merciful and save you the grief from seeing your dead comrades." She then snatched the loosely held gun from his hand and shot him straight where his heart was.
At the same time, a gun rang in the northerly direction of the castle.
++++++++++++
"Did you really have to shoot him? The gunshots are loud as hell," Subaru complained, his arms crossed as he glared at the lilac-haired brother.
"He touched his filthy hands on one of those statues." Kanato then peered at the smoke drifting out of the bullet hole, as if in awe of the weapon. After a moment, he mused, "How odd. Humans are useful."
He proceeded to place the gun in his pocket, causing Subaru's brow to lift.
"Seriously? You're keeping it?" he asked.
"Why not? It's a good toy. Teddy even enjoys it." Kanato didn't even glanced at the body of the dead guard as he began walking away.
Subaru shook his head. "Well, let's hope we don't go broke because of this."
Kanato glanced back, tilting his head in question. Subaru scratched his head, appearing not too eager to explain.
"...Just try not to have fun with that too much. You'll destroy our mansion, otherwise. And everything there is damn expensive."
++++++++++++++
Reiji released his pressure on the small button, causing the earpiece to turn off just as the door opened. He turned his head slightly, and his eyes landed on a hardly breathless Guinevere. He opened his mouth to speak when something caught his eye.
"How are things go—" Surprise crossed Guinevere's face as two fingers grabbed her cheeks, the rest of them tucking beneath her chin. The pressure was quite painful, she had to admit. It would certainly break a human's jaw.
Reiji turned her head to the side. "Which one of them did this?" he spat, venom leaking trough his teeth as his eyes narrowing dangerously at the wound.
"Hmm?" Guinevere blinked, shuffling through her memories. It clicked when she found the answer. "Oh. I forgot about that."
Reiji growled, causing her brows to shoot up in surprise.
"Honestly, Reiji, I am fine. I was having a little fun, that's all," she reassured after regaining her composure. Lightly gripping his extended arm, she smiled, and her cheeks slightly pushed against his fingers. "Besides, I was merely allowing him a short moment of satisfaction before I ended it."
Reiji was speechless. A sound of amusement escaped his lips before he released her. Stepping back, his narrowed eyes flashed with approval as they gazed at her.
Realising that time was not stopping for them, he snapped out of his daze. "Such recklessness...Do be careful next time," he said.
Guinevere winked. "Takes one to know one."
Reiji sighed, and her sharp eyes did not miss a silver of a grin that broke his usual demeanour. She then watched as he faced his back towards her, his fingers pressing on a few buttons before dancing gracefully on the keyboard. She advanced closer, following his moments with curious eyes. Her curiosity deepened upon noticing his sudden hesitation.
"Hmm? What is wrong?" she asked.
"...I was able to disable all the security gadgets...All except one..." Reiji placed a hand under his chin, appearing in deep thought.
"That is odd. You managed to disable all but one?"
Reiji glanced at her. His glasses flashed under the screens' light. "I believe the disable switch is not around here, and hacking is impossible in this case," he said.
"Do you know where it is?"
"My assumption is that it is in the other security room."
"The other—" Guinevere's eyes then widened in realisation. She released a sigh. "It is in the western wing, isn't it? ...Next to the Jewel tower...oh."
The two stood there, not a word uttered between them. Guinevere decided to break the silence. "Ayato and Laito...are heading there, are they not?"
Reiji turned on his earpiece. "Ayato, Laito," he called, urgency evident in his tone. He received nothing, and with his free hand, he massaged the bridge of his nose. "Just when we need them...those fools."